Dough Cutting and Stamping Apparatus and Method

ABSTRACT

An apparatus is provided for forming, cutting and stamping a dough sheet into a plurality of uniformly stamped, imprinted dough pieces. The apparatus engages a leading portion of a dough sheet as it travels along a conveyor. The apparatus includes a drum rotatably disposed relative to the conveyor, a plurality of cutter molds disposed on the rotatable drum and a plurality of pattern imprinters formed within internal cavities defined by the plurality of cutter molds. Each of the cutter molds simultaneously cuts a dough piece received in the internal cavity and imprints on the dough piece to form a rounded edge roll. The pattern imprinter preferably has a star configuration for stamping the dough to form Kaiser-type rolls.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application represents a divisional application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/644,157 entitled “Dough Cutting andStamping Apparatus and Method” filed Dec. 22, 2009, pending, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.61/140,473 entitled “Dough Cutting and Stamping Apparatus and Method”filed Dec. 23, 2008.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention pertains to the art of food production and, moreparticularly, to an apparatus and method for shaping, cutting andstamping dough to form uniformly stamped dough pieces.

BACKGROUND

A number of methods have been employed in order to make various types ofbread products, such as loaves, buns, rolls, biscuits and breadsticks,from a sheet of dough. In such systems, a sheet of bread dough maytypically be extruded, reduced and conveyed along a dough travel path toone or more cutting apparatus, such as slitter wheels, guillotine-typecutter molds, reciprocating head cutter molds, or rotatable drum-typecutter molds. In general, such cutting techniques render a baked producthaving sharp edges, rather than round edges resembling a hand madeproduct. In the past, a rounded edge product has been obtained byplacing small balls of dough in rollers which roll the balls of doughinto a substantially spherical shape. The dough spheres (or dough balls)are then placed in individual baking pans so that they can be baked,much as a conventional dinner roll is baked by a consumer. However, suchtechniques are very low throughput techniques. They are, thus, less thandesirable for commercial applications in which it is imperative toprocess many pounds of dough per minute.

Further, it is often desirable to imprint the top of the dough pieceswith a pattern such as a Kaiser pattern, a cross, a cloverleaf, etc. Inthe prior art, dough pieces are imprinted by stamping in a furtherprocessing step that takes place after the dough pieces are cut. Forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 7,421,947 discloses a roll forming apparatuswherein dough rolls are formed and subsequently moved to an imprinter bya conveyor. The system includes a stop gate positioned in the path ofthe rolls to stop the rolls in a desirable position for imprinting.Sensors are then used to detect the position of the rolls to ensure thatthe imprinter is aligned with the rolls. Once the rolls are imprinted,the conveyor is re-activated to index the next group of rolls forimprinting. Therefore, in accordance with this arrangement, the cuttingand imprinting are separately performed, while the imprinting isperformed in batches. However, such a multi-step process can renderaesthetically unpleasing stamped dough pieces. For example, the imprintmay be stamped inconsistently on each dough piece, resulting in anon-uniform batch of stamped dough products. The depth of the imprintmay also vary undesirably with such a two step process.

In addition, the use of a two step process where the dough product issubsequently stamped results in a slowing of the overall processing ofsuch dough products. Thus, such a process provides a disadvantage inthat it cannot be efficiently used in a high speed production line.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to an apparatus and method for forming,cutting and stamping a dough sheet into a plurality of uniformly stampeddough pieces. The apparatus engages the dough sheet, which includes afirst surface with a first skin and a second surface with a second skin,as it travels along a conveyor. The apparatus includes a drum, rotatablydisposed relative to the conveyor, and a plurality of cutter moldsdisposed on the rotatable drum for engaging the dough sheet as the doughsheet moves along a dough travel path. A plurality of pattern imprintersare formed within each of the plurality of cutter molds such that thedough is simultaneously shaped, cut and imprinted. Each of the cuttermolds includes a periphery having a dough engaging portion for formingrounded edges and a dough cutting edge for severing the dough sheet intoa plurality of dough pieces.

In one embodiment, the pattern imprinter has a star configuration forstamping the dough to form dough pieces suitable for making aKaiser-type roll. The star configuration includes a center portion thatpenetrates fully through the dough sheet and a plurality of finsextending radially from the center portion. Each of the fins includes aninner end, an outer end and a sloped middle section, wherein each of theouter ends only partially penetrates through the dough sheet. Thus, thedough sheet can be continuously advanced, while being cut and formedinto a roll shape, and simultaneously stamped with a pattern imprinterto yield a plurality of uniformly stamped dough pieces.

Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomemore readily apparent from the following detailed description of theembodiments when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein likereference numerals refer to corresponding parts in several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a dough shaping, cutting and stamping apparatus inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the rotary drum cutter of the dough shaping,cutting and stamping apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the rotary drum cutter of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cutter mold provided as part of therotary drum cutter of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the cutter mold of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view of the cutter mold of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the cutter mold of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With initial reference to FIG. 1 a food product assembly line 2incorporating the dough shaping, cutting and stamping apparatus 4 inaccordance with the present invention is depicted. As shown, foodproduct assembly line 2 has a sheet of dough 6 traveling from right toleft upon a conveyor 9. Although not shown, it should be understood thatthe dough is formed in a batch maker or the like and transferred to foodproduct assembly line 2 where it is processed into sheet 6 which hasfirst surface 15 with a first skin and a second surface 18 with a secondskin. As shown in this portion of food product assembly line 2, thesheet of dough 6 is delivered by conveyor 9 to dough shaping, cuttingand stamping apparatus 4. As dough sheet 6 moves in the directionindicated by arrow 25, dough shaping, cutting and stamping apparatus 4rotates in the direction indicated by arrow 30.

As will be described more fully below, dough shaping, cutting andstamping apparatus 4 includes a plurality of cutter molds, one of whichis indicated at 40, and a plurality of pattern imprinters, one of whichis indicated at 45, disposed on an exterior surface 47 of a cylindrical,rotatably driven drum 50 for cutting and stamping dough sheet 6 into adesired number of uniformly patterned pieces. The plurality of cuttermolds 40 including pattern imprinters 45 are mounted relative to theconveyor 9 such that, when dough sheet 6 is traveling in the directionindicated by arrow 25, cutter molds 40 engage the dough sheet, receiveand shape the dough, and sever it to provide a plurality of cuts indough sheet 6, resulting in the formation of individual dough products52 and intermediate, recyclable dough pieces 53. Drum 50, can either bepositively driven, or simply driven by the frictional engagement betweenthe cutter molds 40 and dough sheet 6 or the conveyor 9. In operation,cutter molds 40 extend all the way through dough sheet 6 to lightlyengage conveyor 9 and thereby completely sever dough sheet 6. After thecuts are made in dough sheet 6, dough sheet 6 continues traveling in thedirection indicated by arrow 25 to a post processing station (notshown). The post processing station can include, for example, proofing,baking, freezing and/or packaging.

More specifically, with reference to FIG. 2, cylindrical drum 50 ofdough shaping, cutting and stamping apparatus 4 is mounted on a driveshaft 55 and includes side plates 60 and 62 on either side ofcylindrical drum 50. Side plates 60 and 62 include elongated side endportions 65 and 67 that extends in the direction of travel of the doughsheet 6. Each elongated side end portion 65 and 67 includes a notch 70(see FIG. 1) formed therein for receiving a pivot shaft 75, whichextends parallel to drive shaft 55. Pivot shaft 75 allows cylindricaldrum 50 and drive shaft 55 to pivot and lift up off of the dough sheet 6when desired, such as at the end of a production cycle. Freely rotatablymounted on pivot shaft 55 is a dough roller 77. An air supply hose 80 isalso provided to supply air from an air source, such as an aircompressor (not shown). Air that enters cylindrical drum 50 through hose80 is used to force the dough to be discharged from cutter molds 40after the dough is cut and stamped as will be discussed further below.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the cylindrical drum 50 ofdough shaping, cutting and stamping apparatus 4 in accordance with theinvention. As shown, drive shaft 55 extends through cylindrical drum 50,with a plurality of the cutter molds 40 and a plurality of patternimprinters 45 are disposed on the exterior surface 47 of cylindricaldrum 50. In one embodiment, the various cutter molds 40 are provided aspart of a sleeve 82 that extends about exterior surface 47 and issecured for rotation with drum 50. However, it should be realized thatcutter molds 40 could also be provided directly on exterior surface 47.Although various materials could be used to form cutter molds 40,stainless steel is a preferred material. As also shown, variouselongated air passageways, one of which is shown at 85, extend throughcylindrical drum 50. A plurality of air outlets, one of which isindicated at 90, stems from elongated air passageway 85 to provide airto a respective cutter mold 40. As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5,exterior surface 47 of cylindrical drum 50 and sleeve 58 have alignedapertures 92 formed therein. Each air outlet 90 is exposed to a set ofapertures 92 for a respective cutter mold 40, with sets of threeapertures 92 being illustrated. With this arrangement, air enterselongated air passageway 85 through hose 80, which is adapted to attachto inlet port 95 at one end and an air supply (not shown) at anotherend, with an air regulator 96 (see FIG. 1) interposed there between. Aswill be discussed further herein, air can be timely forced out apertures92 from air outlets 90 to discharge the dough from a respective cuttermold 40. For use in connection with making Kaiser rolls, it has beenfound that providing 5-15 psi to three spaced apertures 92 per cuttermold 40 is effective, although the number and relative positioning ofthe apertures, as well as the pressure employed, could be readilyvaried.

FIGS. 4-7 represent perspective, bottom plan, sectional side and frontelevational views, respectively, of cutter mold 40 and pattern imprinter45 in accordance with the present invention. Cutter mold 40 has aperipheral side wall 97 defining an internal dough receiving cavity 98,with peripheral side wall having a dough engaging portion 102 which isrelatively thick and blunt. In accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention, dough engaging portion 102 is slightly rounded or concave. Inan alternate embodiment, dough engaging portion 102 may be slightlyconvex. Regardless of the configuration, dough engaging portion 102results in the production of a rounded cut dough product. Thus, ratherthan having its edges straight and substantially squared off, theproduced dough product 52 has substantially rounded edges formed by theupper surface 15 of dough sheet 6 being pulled toward the bottom surface18 of dough sheet 6, and sealed thereto. In the embodiment shown, doughproduct 52 constitutes a roll. With these rounded edges, when the rollis baked, it has an aesthetically look that closely resembles a handmaderoll.

In the embodiment shown, the periphery 97 of cutter mold 40 also has anadditional cutting edge 104. Cutting edge 104 forms an annular ringgenerally disposed about the outer periphery of cutter mold 40, and ismuch narrower than the remainder of the annular ring which forms thedepth of cutter mold 40. In one embodiment, cutting edge 104 is onlyapproximately a fraction, e.g. 1/16 (1.6 mm) or less, of an inch inthickness. Cutting edge 104 can be a flat edge, or it can be sharpenedor tapered. Therefore, cutting edge 104 actually severs dough sheet 15,while dough engaging portion 102 provides a blunt dough engaging surfacewhich is sufficiently thick to frictionally engage and pull the topsurface 15 of dough sheet 6 toward the bottom surface 18 thereof inorder to shape and seal the dough, or to pinch them together withpossibly only a small gap between the two surfaces, in order to providethe eventual rounded dough product. Since cutting edge 104 is provided,the cutting pressure required to cut through or sever dough sheet 6 hasbeen observed to be less than that required for a cutter which has nosuch cutting edge. Certainly, it is desired to make a smooth dough cutduring operation. To this end, the front and rear edge portions 104 aand 104 b of cutting edge 104 are specifically configured to be concavein shape, while the opposing side edge portions 104 c and 104 d areconvex. Basically, the curvature of front and rear edge portions 104 aand 104 b are identical and clearly shown in FIG. 7, while the curvatureof side edge portions 104 c and 104 d are identical to each other,different from the curvatures of front and rear edge portions 104 a and104 b, and mimic the side curvature of sleeve 82, while sleeve 82defines a convex bottom for the internal dough receiving cavity 98 ofeach of the cutter molds 40, as clearly shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Withthis construction, there is a smooth, sloped transitional engagementwith dough 6, with each cutter mold 40 smoothly transitioning frominitial engagement with dough 6 by front edge portion 104 a, to thesubsequent engagement of side portions 104 c and 104 d and then to thefinal engagement along rear edge portion 104 b. In addition, cuttingedge 104 of each cutter mold 40 includes radial extensions 110 forconnecting adjacent cutter molds 40 and establishing the intermediatedough pieces 53 (FIG. 1). That is, radial extensions 110 createadditional cuts in dough sheet 6 to further facilitate removal of theindividual dough products, e.g., rolls 52, after the forming, cuttingand stamping operation.

It is often desirable to imprint the top of the dough pieces with apattern, such as a Kaiser pattern, a cross, a cloverleaf or the like. Inthe prior art as discussed above, such an imprinting process would beperformed separate and distinct from the cutting process. However, forthis purpose, each cutter mold 40 includes a pattern imprinter 45provided substantially centrally in internal cavity 98. In theembodiments shown in FIGS. 4-6, each pattern imprinter 45 has a starconfiguration with a center post portion 120 and a plurality of fins,one of which is indicated a 125, extending radially from center portion120. Each of the fins 125 includes an inner end 127, an outer end 130and a sloped middle section 132. In operation, simultaneously with thecutting operation, each of the center portions 120 is designed tosubstantially, fully penetrate the dough sheet 6, while inner end 127,center portion 120 and outer end 130 of each fin 125 penetrate the doughsheet 6 to a decreasing depth, respectively. As best shown in FIG. 6,center portion 120 of the star configuration extends from exteriorsurface 47 of drum 50 at a height equal to the height of cutting edge104. Thus, center portion penetrates dough sheet 6 at the same distanceas cutting edge 104. However, fins 125 are sloped such that outer ends130 of fins 125 penetrate dough sheet 6 to a much lesser depth, e.g.,¼-⅜ inches (approximately 0.6-1.0 cm). Thus, the integrity of the doughpiece is maintained.

Further embodiments of cutter mold 40 are also encompassed by thecurrent invention. For example, dough engaging portion 102 may becomposed of rounded corners with a generally flattened regiontherebetween. In this case, the corners should be rounded sufficientlyto avoid breaking the skin on the upper surface of dough sheet 6 untilthe upper skin has been stretched and drawn toward the lower skin andpinched thereto. The faster dough sheet 6 moves, the more likely cuttermold 40 is to break the skin, so the more blunt or rounded the cornersshould be. Alternatively, the flattened portion may include a raisededge such that less cutting pressure required to sever dough sheet 6.Cutter mold 40 may also include a lower portion having corners, whichcan either be rounded or sharp, and which lead to portions that taper toa most extreme outer peripheral edge of cutter mold 40. The angledefined by tapering portions is a relatively large angle, and issufficient such that the extreme outer periphery avoids breaking theskin of dough sheet 6, until that skin has been drawn toward theopposite skin, and pinched or sealed thereto. Similarly, the corners arepreferably rounded, but are at least formed at angles which aresufficiently large to avoid breaking the dough skin which it engages,until it is pinched or sealed to the opposite dough skin. Furtherdetails regarding alternative embodiments for cutter mold 40 aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,902,754, which is herein incorporated byreference.

Based on the above, it should be readily apparent that the doughshaping, cutting and stamping apparatus of the present inventionprovides a number of significant advantages over prior art dough cuttingand pattern imprinting arrangements. Initially, it is important torecognize that the inclusion of the pattern imprinter in the cuttingmold avoids the need to successively perform these multiple operationsat different production stages, such that the invention greatly enhancesoverall production capabilities. In addition, the inclusion of thecutting molds with imprinters on a rotatable roller provides forcontinuous product production versus the use of more conventionalvertical stamping machines which require some pause in the conveyance ofproduct. The particular configuration of the cutting molds enables theeffective shaping, cutting and stamping operations to be performed,which again is significant as the cutting molds are rotated duringoperation. Furthermore, the inclusion of the timed air discharge intothe cutting molds is important to the overall ability of the system toaccept and shape a requisite amount of dough within the cutting mold,yet assure that the dough is timely removed from the mold. Therefore,the simultaneous cutting and stamping of dough using a rotary drumcutter with dough discharge assistance in accordance with the presentinvention synergistically combines to provide for a high throughput withenhanced product formation. Although the present invention has beendescribed with reference to preferred embodiments, it should be readilyunderstood that various changes and/or modifications, such as the use ofother dough force discharge arrangements including mechanical devices,may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

1. A method of simultaneously shaping, cutting and stamping a doughsheet into a plurality of uniformly stamped dough pieces, said methodcomprising: conveying a dough sheet, having opposing first and secondsurfaces, along a dough travel path; rotating a drum provided in thedough travel path such that a plurality of cutter molds, provided withperipheral cutting edge portions and pattern imprinters in internalcavities thereof, receive dough in the internal cavities of the cuttermolds while the cutting edge portions engage the dough, severing thedough sheet into a plurality of dough pieces, with the patternimprinters simultaneously penetrating at least partially through thedough to imprint a pattern on each of said dough pieces; and causing thedough pieces to be released from the internal cavities.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the pattern imprinters include a center portion whichsubstantially, fully penetrates through the dough sheet.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the pattern imprinters imprint star configurationson said dough pieces.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the patternimprinters include a plurality of fins extending radially from saidcenter portion, each of said plurality of fins only partiallypenetrating said dough sheet.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein causingthe dough pieces to be released from the internal cavities includesforcibly ejecting the dough pieces from the internal cavities.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein causing the dough pieces to be released fromthe internal cavities includes injecting air into the internal cavitiesto forcibly eject the dough pieces.
 7. The method of claim 6, whereininjecting air into the internal cavities includes introducingpressurized air into the drum and transferring the pressurized air intothe internal cavities.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising,simultaneously with forming the dough pieces, forming intermediate doughpieces between the dough pieces, with the intermediate dough piecescompletely separating the dough pieces from one another.
 9. The methodof claim 1, wherein cutting the dough pieces includes pinching the firstand second surfaces of the dough sheet together without breaking thedough sheet.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein severing the dough sheetinto a dough piece by each cutter mold includes causing a concave-shapedfront end portion of the cutter mold to initially engage the doughsheet, followed by convex-shaped opposing side wall portions of thecutter mold, and then a concave-shaped rear end portion of the cuttermold during rotation of the drum.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thedough is severed by the cutting edge portions, with each cutting edgeportion having front and rear portions having curvatures which areidentical to each other and concave in shape, while opposing sideportions of each cutting edge portion have curvatures which areidentical to each other, different from the curvatures of the front andrear portions, and convex in shape.
 12. The method of claim 1, whereinsevering the dough sheet with the plurality of cutter molds forms theplurality of dough pieces with rounded edges.
 13. The method of claim12, wherein rotating the drum includes rotating a sleeve which issecured to the drum and supports the plurality of cutter molds.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein a convex bottom of the sleeve establishesthe internal cavity of each of the cutter molds.